BOWMANVILLE, Ontario – At a nod from the pit crew, I flick the fuel switch and press the start button. Directly behind my back, the 170-horsepower Mazda engine roars to life with a deafening "blatt-blatt-blatt" and the entire car starts to vibrate and quiver.
Until you're actually sitting in one, you have no idea just how confining the cockpit of a Formula car is. I'm only 5'5" and 125 lbs, yet my knees and elbows are up against the metal walls of the car's tub, and my backside is on the floor. I'm pinned to the seat by a six-point harness that includes thigh-encircling leg straps, and clad from head to toe in fireproof Nomex.
I'm already drenched in sweat and have yet to drive a single lap.
We're here for a two-day racing program at Bridgestone's Racing Academy, located at Mosport International Raceway. It's the first time that the school has invited media to participate for two full days, and our second day includes coaching by Indy racing's brightest young star, Canadian James Hinchcliffe.
Although I've taken many driving schools, none have been this intensely focused, nor have they been behind the wheel of a full-on Formula car.
Our first day begins in the classroom, where we're given a brief history of the school by owner Brett Goodman, who radiates the almost annoyingly positive energy of a motivational speaker. An accomplished former race driver, Goodman initially launched the Bridgestone Canada sponsored school at Shannonville Motorsports Park in 1991 with 10 Reynard F2000s purchased from Spenard-David Racing.
In 2000, Goodman, envisioning a highly technical environment with the steepest, yet safest learning curve possible, conceived of the purpose-built track at its current location. He describes designing the driver development track, or DDT as it's commonly known, on a placemat before approaching Mosport owner Don Panoz.
The Academy took off, earning its reputation as the only school of its kind to teach race starts and passing manoeuvres, and producing graduates who are ‘ready to race’. Its alumni include such luminaries as Patrick Carpentier, Ron Fellows, Alex Tagliani, Danica Patrick, Jacques Villeneuve…and James Hinchcliffe.
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| Photo: Lesley Wimbush/Auto123.com |
Until you're actually sitting in one, you have no idea just how confining the cockpit of a Formula car is. I'm only 5'5" and 125 lbs, yet my knees and elbows are up against the metal walls of the car's tub, and my backside is on the floor. I'm pinned to the seat by a six-point harness that includes thigh-encircling leg straps, and clad from head to toe in fireproof Nomex.
I'm already drenched in sweat and have yet to drive a single lap.
We're here for a two-day racing program at Bridgestone's Racing Academy, located at Mosport International Raceway. It's the first time that the school has invited media to participate for two full days, and our second day includes coaching by Indy racing's brightest young star, Canadian James Hinchcliffe.
Although I've taken many driving schools, none have been this intensely focused, nor have they been behind the wheel of a full-on Formula car.
Our first day begins in the classroom, where we're given a brief history of the school by owner Brett Goodman, who radiates the almost annoyingly positive energy of a motivational speaker. An accomplished former race driver, Goodman initially launched the Bridgestone Canada sponsored school at Shannonville Motorsports Park in 1991 with 10 Reynard F2000s purchased from Spenard-David Racing.
In 2000, Goodman, envisioning a highly technical environment with the steepest, yet safest learning curve possible, conceived of the purpose-built track at its current location. He describes designing the driver development track, or DDT as it's commonly known, on a placemat before approaching Mosport owner Don Panoz.
The Academy took off, earning its reputation as the only school of its kind to teach race starts and passing manoeuvres, and producing graduates who are ‘ready to race’. Its alumni include such luminaries as Patrick Carpentier, Ron Fellows, Alex Tagliani, Danica Patrick, Jacques Villeneuve…and James Hinchcliffe.
 |
| Photo: Lesley Wimbush/Auto123.com |